Raiders of the Lost Ark

Raiders of the Lost Ark; fantasy adventure, USA, 1981; D: Steven Spielberg, S: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, John Rhys-Davies, Denholm Elliott, Wolf Kahler, Alfred Molina

Peruvian jungle, '36. Archaeologist Indiana Jones manages to enter an ancient temple, take a golden statue and get out, avoiding all the booby traps—only to find his nemesis Belloq outside, who steals it from him. Returning to the US, Jones gets a new assignment: to find the Ark of Convenant in Tanis, Egypt, before the Nazis, who work with Belloq, and want to use the Ark to become invincible. Jones picks up his ex-girlfriend Marion and goes to Tanis. He manages to find the Ark, but the Nazis take it away. On an isolated island, the Nazis open the Ark and unleash the spirits that kill them. The Ark is then brought to a giant US government warehouse.

Director Steven Spielberg and producer George Lucas conjured up an upgrade (and rehabilitation) of B-movie adventure serials with the shining "Raiders of the Lost Ark", a B-movie done with A-list composition, with so much professional talent, fun, excitement and energy that one almost gets in temptation to enjoy this more than art-films. The whole story is highly artificial and cartoonish: who can seriously believe that ancient Indians could build an ancient temple in the jungles of South America, thousands of years ago, that has such high-tech booby traps as the one where Jones raises his hand in front of the light from the Sun, and it activates a sharp spear? When he tries to walk through the path, it activates arrows from the walls. With such system, they didn't even need lasers or heat detectors. Or who can believe in the mythological Ark of Convenant? However, realism here isn't important. It's all style over substance—but what a unique style it is. It's an escapist, cheesy fantasy that creates its very own world, and if the viewers can accept that, they are in for a great thrill ride, whereas Harrison Ford is undoubtedly great as the legendary Indiana Jones. It's a guilty pleasure, but in a great movie.

The first hour crams in so much inspiration, brilliant ideas, creativity and ingenuity that it is overwhelming in swaying the viewers in its favor. In the opening sequence, for instance, Indiana Jones is initially only shown from the back, all until he stops near a lake and uses his whip to slap the revolver from the hand of an assistant who betrayed him: Jones is now turned towards the camera, but still in the shadow, and then he makes a few steps forward, into the light, and now for the first time reveals his face to the camera, which is genius filmmaking. The inspired momentum continues: while holding a lecture, the camera reveals that 90% of the class are women, who just use the lecture as an excuse to stare at Professor Jones, and in one perfect little moment a close up shows the face of a girl who slowly blinks, revealing she drew the words "LOVE" on her left eyelid, and "YOU" on her right eyelid—this is the best scene in all of Spielberg's films. In the Nepal bar sequence, Jones meets his ex-girlfriend Marion who still resents him, but he offers her 3,000$ for a medallion giving instructions as to how to find the Ark. At the counter, Marion raises her hand to slap him, but Jones catches her hand—and in the same beat, shoves the money in her hand, as if to "make the deal" that she is now his new partner. Even more inventive is the idea where the Nazi villain Toht grabs said medallion after it was in fire, and accidentally burns the palm of his hand—but its burns at the same time left an imprint on his palm, which is used as a map by the Nazis to find the excavation site. Indeed, Spielberg seems to have a blast just queuing one great idea after another. The second half feels kind of weaker, though, since a certain routine enters the storyline, and the action sequences begin to look as if on 'autopilot'. In the last 30 minutes, the movie falls apart: Jones disguises himself as a Nazi to follow the villains on the island, only to have himself captured in a bluff without a plan. The finale where the Nazis open the Ark is pure trash. Nonetheless, despite a letdown in the conclusion, "Raiders of the Lost Ark" is overall an incredibly fresh and lively film, proving that Spielberg can turn even the most obscure, seemingly "worthless" stories into a hidden treasure.

Grade:+++